With the past 364 days behind us, you may wonder “What the hell was so special about 2008, anyway?” Surely there were a myriad of noteworthy events, such as a controversial new president elect and Gay marriage being banned, then allow, then banned again. However that’s all stuff that you could read in any retrospective article on a news site. What exactly was noteworthy about the year 2008 for the average to over-average geek like you and I? Here, we’ll take a look about the good, the bad, and the absolutely insane of this past year.
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Yes. I know you can see the lamp in the corner. My little camera preview screen apparently crops what it actually records. Which also partially explains the bottle of water.

Before Capcom vs SNK, there was, well, SNK vs SNK. While the Neo Geo had several good shooters and platformers, it would be fighting games which would really put SNK and the Neo Geo on the map. Games such as Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and Samurai Showdown would show that SNK was every bit as equal to Capcom in the fighting game arena. Even third party developers such as ADV and Data East made games for the Neo Geo. In 1994, after the several Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting games, SNK decided change the genre and do something completely new. They created a fighting game in which fighters were placed into 3-man teams, something which was unheard of at the time. Even more amazing, they teamed up characters from their back catalog. Fatal Fury fighters mixed it up with Art of Fighting characters. Yeah, people flipped when they fought Ryo Sazaki in Fatal Fury Special, and it was cool to see Geese Howard as the boss of Art of Fighting 2, but now the crossover appeal had been taken to the next level. It wasn’t just SNK FIGHTERS who joined in the fun. Characters from Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier also threw down with Terry Bogard and crew. There were also several new characters who joined as well. In fact, Kyo Kusanagi, one of the new blood, would rise to become KOF’s main hero. The series itself would become one of the Neo Geo’s (as well as the genre’s) most prolific titles. Subsequent entries were released on an almost-yearly basis, and the newest entry in the series is being developed even now. To tide us over until then, SNK has released this collection of the first 5 games in the series. This disc is a must-own for fans of the series, fans of SNK, or fans of 2-d fighters period.
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Line ups have been announced for the next 2 waves of Marvel Minimates.

Series 25
(New) Captain America & Red Skull
Red Hulk & Ska’ar
Iron Man & AIM Agent
VARIANT: “Bolt-Face” Iron Man & AIM Agent

Series 26
Wolverine & Deadpool
Gambit & Psylocke
Sabretooth & Skrull
VARIANT: First Appearance Sabretooth & Skrull

It was mentioned that there were going to be Army Builder figures in these waves, but I am extremely diappointed to see they won’t be packaged together. So if you want two 3 AIM Agents, you have to have 3 Iron Men. As if we didn’t have enough already. At least they aren’t packaged with Wolverine.

Images and News from the newly revamped Minimate Headquarters.

In association with DNA Films (Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later), the UK publisher 2000AD has announced that Judge Dredd has been greenlit for production in 2009. They hope this movie will drown everyone’s memory of the 1995 film featuring Sylvester Stallone in one of his finest roles as an actor. All joking aside, they seem to understand the initial theatrical attempt was a bit of a farce and hope to correct that with this next outing. Time will tell…

This title from Sammy (now owned by Sega) is one of the finest, yet most underrated titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game contains 3 different styles of gameplay. There are side scrolling platforming segments in which players can switch between various weapons, light-gun shooting levels which are similar to Operation Wolf, and driving levels similar to Spy-Hunter. The story, told through cinemas explores genetic mutations, cloning, and secret conspiracies which take the game beyond the standard ‘save the princess’ storylines seen in other games of that period. This game is a sought after title for the Virtual Console. In fact Mark Bozon, editor of IGN’s Wii Page have been asking the company about the possibility of the game being available on the service. However, Sammy apparently doesn’t remember the game and is tracking down the licensing rights to it. That’s a shame too, as this is an excellent title that deserves a second life.